A Bit Unusual

There are a few people here at whiteboydancefloor that we like to consider 'whiteboys' - not so much in the racial sense but in the fact that they exude the kind of cool that we like to associate ourselves with. From David Bowie to Borris Yeltsin (RIP) - if you like either dressing up comically, dancing like a fool or writing the kind of songs that shake our booties of the dance floor, then we worship you.

One such person is Mr. (or Sir I believe) Tom Jones. Before this blog even began I remember cruising around with the Pix with 'Sex Bomb' as loud as could possibly be fathomed. No we didnt want people thinking we were gay (although Im sure they did at times) - we just wanted to spread the love, the message and the groove. Through an expansive career Sir Tom has written a VAST array of different hits from "Its Not Unusual" to "Whats New Pussycat" and is no doubt one of the richest Welshmen alive. Personally, I'd be happy to let him sit in a castle somewhere on top of his massive piles of money and let him enjoy what he has earnt throughout the years - but is the man himself content to rest of his laurels? It would appear not.

Now while I'm not too familiar with 'The Culture Show' over in the UK, I shall compare it to Triple J's feats where they get Australian musicians and make them go and have a busk off, seeing who can raise the most money in a certain period of time. In Australia, where we dont really have international megastars (apart from Kylie and maybe Rolf Harris), this is cool, but alot of these people (Like John Butler) started off busking anyway.

So imagine you're in London, walking down the Thames and all of a sudden you hear a soothing busker. You go over to have a look and you find out its none other than Tom Jones himself. This is what happened this week as the man performed for anyone who would listen in an attempt to raise money for a cancer charity.



For a brief set in public Mr Jones made over 500 quid, all going to a cancer charity. To do something like this, people might not think is that special. I disagree, this is great and noble work. He couldve told the show to "fuck off - Im Tom Jones!", but instead he went out and did something I have a feeling most of todays 'celebrities' would have just turned their noses up at. We salute you Tom.

Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous

The life of a music blogger can lead to some very exciting and unbelievable journeys. While my 14 hour round trip to Gilgandra had absolutely nothing to do with my inflated existence as a music blogger, I thought if I start off the post with something really ambiguous and exaggerated, you might read on.

So yes, I've been away in the NSW Country but I have returned and have so so many tracks for you good people to listen to.

Mp3: Heartbreak - Living Just For Fun
What better way to kick it off than with my new favourite band. While I wouldn't say this was my most favourite track by them, their latest release Lies is simply stunning. It's electro that is so tense and dramatic and while the vocals could run the risk of sounding gimmicky, they nail it perfectly.

Mp3: Heads We Dance - The Human Touch
Honestly my lack of keeping on the pulse may mean you have already heard these guys. The Human Touch is a great dancefloor track which will push the sweat glands coming in just under 5 minutes. I've heard a few tracks from these chaps and they do nothing but impress. Must be played very loud.

Youtube: Oh Darling - Electrocute
A nice little indie pop song. Almost as if it doesn't really how catchy it is. I don't know what vibe Oh Darling gives me but I can't help but think they don't intend to be what they are. Somehow still it all comes together it such a brilliant neat package. Thought It'd be handy to check it out in a raw setting. So the recording isn't flawless, but that's why I like about live clips.



Mp3: Welcome Wagon - Sold! To the Nice Rich Man
It may come across hard to digest at first, but give it time. Not only is it a very witty title for a song, but it has all the peaks and valleys to justify it. Watch out for what I'd liken to a folk-esque version of a Santana break down featuring throughout. I love when brass is used to create warmth and nostalgia rather than punk rock ska bullshit.

Youtube: Cassette Kids - You Take It
I'm so proud they are from Sydney. The vocal melodies are more creative than meets the ear and they have that young sex is on fire type image that will take them far. Ting Tings can fuck off.

Mp3: Kid Sister - Family Reunion
I think if it was the 90's... Kid Sister would be collaborating with Will Smith, Spice Girls or Big Brovaz. Either way I have always had a penchant for the 90s and I think it has been long enough that people can start channeling it in small doses. The song does sound corny, but don't lie to me like you won't stick it on repeat, burn it to a mix cd and be spitting rhymes in your car when you're stuck at the lights. Oww yeah, she does stuff with Kanye.

Oh and to finish, here is my guilty pleasure of late. Cheesy over produced pop that is supposed to have this ultra hard rocking edge to it and doesn't really know what it is. Anyways I heard in when I was in a weak moment attending a night at Trash in Sydney... I'm not proud of myself but I can't stop liking it.

Youtube: Mindless Self Indulgence - Never Wanted to Dance

Is Your Heart Still Beating?

Don't Be On With Her by Miami Horror is so infectious, I absolutely love this track and the video clip is the coolest I've seen this year! While on the subject of Miami Horror make sure you go out and purchase the 'Bravado' EP, do it...you know you want to!

Peace.

My Name Is Chuck

LA MODE have been kicking out some quality remixes this year, my favourite so far being P Diddy's Bad Boy For Life. When I first heard LA MODE's original track 'Bluebird' I instantly thought BANGER! Make sure you check out LA MODE's MySpace for some more original material...its well worth it.

LA MODE - Bluebird

Peace.

Miss Pacman

Oh! is a very tasty track by We Have Band. Make sure you check out their MySpace and while your there grab a free remix by Plugs.



Peace.

The Big Day (Out)

No, I dont mean your wedding. No I dont mean the day you die. I dont even mean that time you wore a pinstripe jacket for a business meeting and liked it so much you wore it on the bus - I mean the BIG DAY OUT.


If you ask me the advertising and promotion for the Big Day Out seems to have gone considerably more low-key this year as opposed to previous ones. I didnt buy my ticket but as far as I'm aware the online service was concise and effective, its not all over the place and doesnt really seem to be on the tongue-tips of the people who usually talk about this kind of stuff. Maybe we've all got better things to do but anyway the lineup is announced (apart from occasional local acts that haven't been mentioned yet) and its.. well.. its good. I'll give you a rundown

Neil Young will probably prove to us what Devo proved to all at Splendour (minus the 400 or so that watched them) - Australian festival audiences dont give a shit about the likes of him. I know I wont be there. The Arctic Monkeys make a return to Australia which I'm pretty excited about, Pendulum, The Prodigy, Cut Copy and Hot Chip will keep the boiler room pumping no doubt while Serj Tankian, Black Kids, The Ting Tings and The Grates will provide a vast array of visual and audio experiences.

I'm not having a gripe about anything. Its been handled pretty well this year. Maybe one suggestion, offer, i could (lovely Yoda-speak there). When you're going to keep raising the ticket prices to an event (I know, inflation, global economic crisis, etc) how about providing a few more big INTERNATIONAL acts? $140 is a decent amount, for a one day festival - and while the lineup is grand, its also packed full of Australian bands I've seen (or at least most people have) a hundred times before like Cog, The Living End, Mammal, The Drones, Birds of Tokyo, The Vines (god Im sorry but I fucking HATE this band) and yes EVEN Little Red. Now, I have no problem with any of these bands (except The Vines) but why not replace them with a few more bands I cant see at the Annandale/Metro/Enmore for $15-$45. Then again, I guess alot of it has to do with the decent amount of money they no doubt forked out (or should I say WASTED) on Neil Young. While he once penned the lyric "hey hey/my my/rock'n'roll will never die" we should probably start wondering when this stupid fascination with old acts at festivals marketed to a younger audience will.

Nucleus at Caringbah (and Geminine)

It was meant to be a rocking night out with Geminine and Nucleus taking to the stage at the Caringbah Hotel. After driving through Caringbah 3 times, searching, I finally decided to park and go check out the only Hotel I could find that had 'Caringbah' on it.

When I entered the pub, something struck me as odd. There was a band playing, sure, but I was almost certain Geminine hadn't started playing Santana covers. And I was also pretty sure they didn't have 5 band members with a 40 year old drummer.

Suddenly it hit me, like the punchline to a badly told joke; this is a cover band. I'm in the wrong pub!

So after approximately 45 minutes of walking up several streets I managed to find the Caringbah Bizzo's, as they call it.

By the time I arrived I managed to get the last 10 minutes of Geminie and a few photos. Clearly I'd missed a good gig. The wall of sound pounding my ears was tight, heavy and had drawn a large crowd.

Nucleus took to the stage at about 11. With a gong, lots of extra percussion, an Oud and electronic drums on stage, I was in for an exciting set.

Nucleus are very interesting to listen to as there is so much going on. Each band member seemed to play their own melody and the layers sound amazing.

Due to the very melodic and progressive nature of the music some people might not have an interest in this style, but the many layers of sound and the wall of sound these guys produced would be enough for anyone to stick around.

At one point during the set guitarist Dylan played a call and response on bongos and other assorted persucssion instruments with drummer Mark before the band joined in. Shane, the Geminine drummer even added an extra percussion layer for a song.

While this isn't usually my style of music, I was very impressed. Nucleus played a very good show with a very tight and well mixed sound.

Nucleus website: http://www.myspace.com/nucleusband

Geminine website: http://www.myspace.com/gemininetunes

I just can't shake her

Kate Miller Heidke... I am still yet to find a shortened reference for this quirky blonde that's fitting. I'll go with KMH for now, but I realise it sounds like a 2WS sister radio station... your listening to KMH 103.4, coming to you from the valley with non stop classic hits.

Honestly I wouldn't say that KMH has really been high on my list of to see artists and of all people it was actually my brown sugar loving father who first introduced me to the strange and ear piercing sounds of KMH. Her unmistakable devotion to having a folk edge never sat well with me and I was quite happy for her to continue getting her little ditties blasted across rage while I happily slept or watched Chelsea dominate the premier league.

Now enter the latest release from KMH entitled 'Curiouser'. As I threw it into the cd player, I was reading for more of the same really. But clearly her continued success in the biz is due to her being more than a one trick pony. It is evident in that even with the most unenjoyable name to spit out, no agent nor industry fat cat has managed to get her to go down the J-Lo, P-diddy type route with something like K-Dikie.

I'll be the first to tell you I wasn't a KMH aficionado previously but upon giving 'Curiouser' a whirl even a non fan previously could tell you that KMH has added yet another dimension to her already ellaborate bag of tricks. 'Curiouser' is definitely a real melting pot in which KMH shows just how far she can flex her musical muscle.

I'm guessing tracks like the irresistable "Can't Shake It" would have some throwing the old sell out tags out there, but those fans are the deadwood I hoping KMH can cast aside. But even with her girl of many hats persona, KMH throws out the irrelevant but infectious "Motorscooter" and the deep crooning of the lyric "pretty much" in my personal favourite 'Politics in Space' which seems to best represent KMH's ability to make the weird very disgestible.

Ultimately I think KMH has a wonderful ability to stay grounded in the ideologies that first brought her acclaim but simultaneously give a lesson in the making music which gets more air time on the radio in this case isn't selling out but actually getting better.

Check out Kate Miller Heidke's myspace for heaps more youtube clips.
Click here to purchase 'Curiouser'.